A number of diseases are associated with aberrant expression of a gene product (e.g., an RNA transcript or protein) of a gene. The resulting aberrant amounts of RNA transcripts may lead to disease due to corresponding changes in protein expression. Changes in the amount of a particular RNA transcript may be the result of several factors. First, changes in the amount of RNA transcripts may be due to an aberrant level of transcription of a particular gene, such as by the perturbation of a transcription factor or a portion of the transcription process, resulting in a change in the expression level of a particular RNA transcript. Secondly, changes in the splicing of particular RNA transcripts, such as by perturbation of a particular splicing process or mutations in the gene that lead to modified splicing can change the levels of a particular RNA transcript. Changes to the stability of a particular RNA transcript or to components that maintain RNA transcript stability, such as the process of poly-A tail incorporation or an effect on certain factors or proteins that bind to and stabilize RNA transcripts, may lead to changes in the levels of a particular RNA transcript. Also, the level of translation of particular RNA transcripts can affect the amount of those transcripts, affecting or upregulating RNA transcript decay processes. Finally, aberrant RNA transport or RNA sequestration may also lead to changes in functional levels of RNA transcripts, and may have an effect on the stability, further processing, or translation of the RNA transcripts.
Often, diseases associated with changes to RNA transcript amount are treated with a focus on the aberrant protein expression. However, if the processes responsible for the aberrant changes in RNA levels, such as components of the splicing process or associated transcription factors or associated stability factors, could be targeted by treatment with a small molecule, it would be possible to restore protein expression levels such that the unwanted effects of the expression of aberrant levels of RNA transcripts or associated proteins. Therefore, there is a need for methods of modulating the amount of RNA transcripts encoded by certain genes as a way to prevent or treat diseases associated with aberrant expression of the RNA transcripts or associated proteins.